Of faults and farewells
by Anivy
Summary: Hanging by a single thread, the son of Sparda was the last life line of humanity. Mistakes of youth were chasing him to this day. A path of redemption his answer, neglecting himself and those that loved him most. Lucia did her best to help, but she would never fill the void in his heart. His spell was ready, but he hesitated. Humanity would be damned.
1. Chapter 1

Placed in the DMC2AU by karaii, following after his comic "Pandora" and ends with "Redemption". If you haven't read them already, I advise you check them out _after_ reading this fanfic since it plays out what happened in between the comics. Do so not only because they are amazing, but also cause "Redemption" is the ending of this story.

Chapter 1 will be rated T, the second one will contain expicit material, so the rating will go up.

Inspired by Vampyglamour25's request.

 _Disclaimer: Devil May Cry is an IP owned by Capcom. This is a fan story, I do not own any Characters used and the idea behind the AU belongs to karaii. I do not make any money out of this text._

* * *

 **Of faults and farewells - Chapter 1**

A sigh played on his lips. Nothing useful in there either. Skimming quickly through the pages with leathery gloves, ancient demonic text passing by in ridiculous tempo, one could wonder how he was able to get out any information at all. He closed the book with force. Reaching back to the shelf, he put the grayed out, dusty tome back at its place. Not like it mattered anyway.

He turned around, back to the door, or rather, what was left of it. The ceiling of what once was a library was blown off, the room's floor covered in rubble. Stepping outside, a small breeze greeted him, ruffling his long red coat and white hair partially hanging down his face, the air loaded with more dust, ashes, blood...

Just another regular day in hell.

He went out and on the streets, passing by the desolated view that once was Capulet City. Where to go? It felt like he already went through all the possibilities of obtaining the clue he sought. Now he has to resort to skimming through ruins for texts that might hold the final piece. He knew the chances were bad. But that didn't stop him.

Matier had given him a lot already, she sent off Lucia to look for it on his behalf, too. She didn't even know why he needed it. It shouldn't matter to her why, just that it's important. She was eager to help, of course. His mouth formed a small smirk, though it faded as quickly as it came. Focus on your goal. She was not important, finding the phrase was.

Right... that's why he insisted in risking his life and went through the hell portal to fend off Argosax instead of her. The fight was easy compared to finding the way back home. She waited for him. Time flows at a different pace in hell, he didn't know how long he had been gone. 5 whole years, she told him then. And Lucia was in the shop at the day he arrived... He felt happy then, even if it was only for a brief moment.

It was a useless sentiment, he knew. Especially considering what he had planned on doing once he brought all the pieces together. But wasn't he the one who swore that he would change, that to bring back the red where it rightfully belonged, the blue would fade forever? He was. And he would put through with it, until the day of redemption.

It took about half an hour until he reached the first beginnings of civilization. The guards knew him well enough, most of them didn't even spare a glance. They didn't mention it, but secretly knew the reason they were still able to hold out in this demon infested world. A silent thanks of sort.

He recognized a young soldier. Shaggy brown hair, helmet on his head, machine gun in arms, a huge hole replacing where his left eye would be, multiple deep scars grazing his cheeks... Poor guy had lost half his face in a demon attack 7 years ago. His parents weren't as lucky though. At least the kid survived long enough for him to arrive at the scene, immediately cutting the demon in half with Rebellion. Recognizing the devil hunter clad in scarlet red, the boy nodded in his direction.

"Hey Dante! Out hunting again?"

"Not really. There isn't much to save out there."

"I guess that's true. Anyways, have a save route home, alright?"

He thanked the kid, the latter returning to his duty. He had once visited the half-devil and asked him to train him hunting demons. A second encounter with one of hells denizens was enough to change his mind, at least. Teaching was not his forte. Especially a human fighter. They die in a blink to most hellspawns, so teaching them would waste his time while he could just fight the demons off himself.

He didn't say it aloud, but he thought those guards were no help at all, a waste of resources, just a vessel to ease the minds of the people living here. Still, he smiled at those that waved at him, participated in their small talk and put his own witty remarks in it. He made them laugh, brought back the smiles despite everything that was happening to the world. Not bad for an imitation.

More than 20 years by now, a few days to add wouldn't matter in the slightest.

Though this area was indeed inhabited, the streets were almost empty. Those passing by mostly ignored him, some intentionally quickening their steps. Fear has struck in the hearts of people, he couldn't bring himself to feel bad about their behavior.

Sometime later, he finally reached the doors of the old shop he called home. He wasn't alone. There already was a motorcycle waiting for him in front of the old building. Lucia.

Said redhead was sitting at his desk as he entered. Her face lighting up as he approached.

"Dante! I was waiting for you. Found something that might interest you."

Sending her not more than a brief glance he slid off his coat, revealing the black shirt beneath that tightly snuck around his torso. Removing the holsters he sat the guns on the desk, placing Rebellion carefully down to lean on the furniture. Lucia stepped forward, holding another book in her hands and in the hunters line of sight.

Curiosity caught, he took the black leathered tome and inspected the outside. It looked promising.

"Thank you. I'll read through it later."

The demoness chuckled. "Later? Are you tired? Is that even possible, you being exhausted?"

The tome landed on the desk. "Unbelievable as it may seem, I think it's true." He grinned.

"My Dante, are you getting old?", she jokingly replied, placing her arms on her waist and leaning slightly forward, only a few inches left between them both.

He joined with an own small chuckle. His eyes did not. "Maybe I am."

Lucia looked at him closely. Some small wrinkles were forming around his mouth and eyes. Those bags beneath his icy blue orbs were probably caused by something else though. She did not know about what was eating him up inside, just that there lied a dark scar in the mind behind the eyes she adored so greatly. But he closed himself off, even to her. If only she could...

The phone started ringing. He let out a groan, but picked it up anyway. "Password?"  
Why did he even ask, it wasn't like he would deny the help. But he didn't set the rule.

"I'll be there in a few minutes, tell them to hide and don't start shooting." He hung up, grabbing his coat again. "Emergency. Seems like a few prides broke through the barrier, attacking humans."

Lucia was already holding the door open. "Then let's go."

Adjusting his collar carefully, he turned to his desk and picked his weapons up again. "It will be easy. You don't have to join you know." When he looked back she was already gone. Women.

They took the motorcycle, the half-devil driving with Lucia sitting behind him, clutching his waist to keep herself on the vehicle as they picked up tempo. Every second counted.

The scene that greeted them was death, more than usual. He silently cursed that guy who had phoned him. A few Prides alright. Not counting the dozens of Blades and Flambats attacking whoever may be close. People were running from the demons in panic, only to be chased and executed. Some guards were trying to combat them with guns. He told them to hide, goddamnit.

Not wasting a moment they joined the fight, Rebellion was freed from his back and he threw it, rotating so that it could hit the blades which were about to approach some civilians with deadly intent, only to return to the hunter who caught it like second nature. Ebony and Ivory brought the Flambats down, a quick Stinger to the Prides killed them easily. Lucia was not far behind, throwing daggers at the demons and cutting them down with her Cutlaseers.

It was as easy as anticipated, though the numbers of demons didn't seem to decrease. There must be a portal nearby. The few soldiers left didn't stop shooting, some bullets even hitting the half-devil in the back, which stung, but didn't stop him from fighting.

"Stop shooting and hide you fools! Your guns aren't damaging them!" They did not listen. Useless.

Lucia fought through the masses of demons, killing them one after the other whilst looking for the portal that spawned them. She found it in an alley nearby, some more flambats emerging just this moment which were immediately greeted by her daggers. Quickly, she closed the portal off with a spell. Though many had already gotten through, so the fight was far from over.

The earth shook beneath the hunters, halting them in their tracks. Just a second later several, thick limbs shot out of the ground, the red hunter dodging them swiftly. The guards weren't fast enough. Knocked to their feet they were greeted by multiple insect eyes that belonged to a spider like body, engulfed in lava and flames. A phantom. It charged and burnt the guards down in a single fireball.

Lucia rushed back and jumped onto the creature, hitting it's back with multiple strikes of her swords before she was thrown off. Her partner didn't wait around, wanting to finish it quickly. He triggered into his true devil form, flying over to the phantom, striking from above and successfully impaling the demon with Rebellion. It screamed in anguish.

The black devil jumped off it's hard carapace, raining down a hail of bullets onto the spider. He charged forward with another stinger, cutting off the head of the insect beast.

With the boss dead the smaller demons tried to flee, both devils hunting them down and putting an end to the attack. He de-triggered.

All that was left behind was chaos and grief. Ambulance arrived and helped the wounded civilians, others collecting bodies of the fallen. The hunters didn't stick around for long. It didn't matter that the guy that called him would probably never be able to pay them for their job.

Back at Devil May Cry they could finally take a rest. Lucia slumped unceremoniously on the couch. It were just too many, even for her inhuman capabilities.

"I wonder what they would have done without us, Dante."

"Not a single soul would be left alive." He joined Lucia on the couch, already stripped of his coat and kicking off his boots, slumping against the back and spreading his strained legs out on the carpet. "Besides the phantom, the demons were easy to kill. But the soldiers couldn't even get rid of those without our help. Not to mention that no one could have sealed the portal." Lucia nodded, sadly.

Humanity was lost without the devils watching over them. Since Mundus' attack years ago they gradually weakened the seal Sparda placed on the demon world, resulting in countless demons emerging everywhere on earth, numbers steadily increasing. There is only so much two hunters could achieve.

He stopped Mundus. He stopped Aries and Argosax in hell. Every threat that endangered humanity itself was fought off by the man in red. Without him, the next devil lord would be the end. He was aware of that. Lucia would try her best, but... without anyone of Sparda's bloodline, he doubted the world could survive for much longer.

He shouldn't feel like any of this was important to him, but it was. His goals are set... were set decades ago. It was complicated, he didn't know what exactly happened to this timeline once he used the spell. Most likely, this world wouldn't change at all. And it frightened him, even if he didn't want to admit it. He wanted to correct his mistake, that was why he even considered... Lucia was still here. It would be fine. She would be fine.

"Don't forget the text I've brought, I too want to know if it is what you were looking for." She broke his train of thoughts.

"Curious eh? Alright." He slowly got up with a grunt, his joints shouldn't hurt so bad, they never did before. He cursed his human side, but actually didn't really mean it. He took the book which was left on his desk before they departed, opening it and reading through the pages quickly. He stilled a few pages in. There it was. Lucia had found it.

"Don't keep me waiting here, you stopped reading so... I suppose you got it?"

"Indeed I have. Thank you Lucia." His voice remained calm but his insides were ablaze. All this years of searching. There it was. The end.

The demoness stood up, walking up to her friend. "That's good. I wondered why you needed a spellbook, especially a demonic tome. What have you planned to do with it?"

"I was searching for spells which could help us ward off the city better. Even if it's of demonic origin, we should use whatever we have in our arsenal to try to prevent situations like today from ever happening again."

"Yeah, I hope we'll find a way."

He placed the book down. She surprised him by placing her hand on his, entwining their fingers.

"It was not your fault. Without you they all would have died by now," she said, calmly.

"I know -"

"No, you don't."

They shot each other a look, him not showing any expression. Lucia glared at him.

"You grieve, constantly, but don't speak up about it. You hide your thoughts, drowning yourself in sorrow. Do you really think I would be oblivious to that?"

Green met blue. He retracted his hand, breaking the hold. Instead she gripped his arm, not letting him off the hook. She wanted answers, and now.

"You are a bad liar _Dante_."

* * *

Chapter 2 is already in the works, I don't think it will get longer than that. Feedback is appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

"You are a bad liar Dante."

She didn't anticipate his response. He started laughing, bitterly. Lucia was caught off guard, but he kept on going. What the hell?

"Why would I ever lie to you my dear Lucia?" He stepped closer, the woman letting go of his arm. His eyes changed in the matter of a moment. So cold.  
She couldn't believe it. She was scared... scared of her closest friend. The person she adored most on this world.

"Dante... wha-"

"You are right. I'm fucked up, aren't I?" Another, emotionless imitation of a laugh. "The son of the legendary dark knight Sparda, savior of the world. But also its bane."

She stepped back until she hit the wall. Confused, irritated, she looked at him with eyes blown wide. He placed his hands against the wall, on either side of her head. Trapping her.

"Bane? I... you are fighting for humanity. Constantly. How could you be -."

"You know nothing about me. About my mistakes. About who I really am..."

"Then tell me! Don't hide it!" She clutched his shirt, defiant in the eyes of fear. "Damn it, Dante I want to help you, don't you understand?"

"No. You can't help me." His voice was calm again, but clearly, inside he was not.  
He made her furious. Anger was not the only emotion to pass her though. She needed to show him. To show she cared.

Quickly, she leaned up and kissed him, her lips remaining on his even as he froze, not responding. After a few moments she pulled back. He looked like he was fighting with himself again, arms slightly trembling. No, that should not happen. He knew about her sentiments, about his sentiments. Did so for years, knowing that he should never walk this path, for her sake. He couldn't...

He released her, quickly dressing himself again, almost kicking the door in while storming out the shop without saying another word. She was left behind, speechless and hurt, but at least the fear she'd felt just before was gone. He was right, she knew nothing about his past besides his name and heritage.

But... Lucia knew, even if he appeared cold and unapproachable sometimes, even if his laughter and jokes are nothing more than covers designed to hide his true self, on the inside he was kind and caring.

He showed her whenever they fought and she was wounded, rushing to her side to see if she was alright before unleashing his fury on the enemy that dared to hurt her. The evenings when they would sit beside each other, recovering from a bloody day of hunting. A look, briefly and hidden so that it's barely noticeable, but she did so anyway.

She felt bad for being so scared. Dante would never hurt her. This time, instead of the world he saved times and times again, he himself was the one in dire need of help.

* * *

The hunter was greeted with a flickering pink neon sign placed just over the narrow stairway that led down to Bobby's Cellar. With damaged walls, brittle desks, chairs and broken doors, it bordered on a miracle that the old bar was still running.

It was almost empty inside, only the barman and a guy in the far end left corner that passed out on his desk, vodka bottle still in hand and snoring. The waiter looked up, surprised to see the new arrival.

Red coat... white hair... He heard stories of him of course, not many people around who could transform into a 6"6' tall, freakishly looking devil that went around saving others from demons of all kind. He heard that this guy was once a frequent customer, back when the old owner was still running the establishment.

The half-devil took a seat right at the counter, ordering whatever was the strongest drink this bar sold. He received a questioning glance of the other man, but not a minute later a glass of Everclear was placed in front of him which he immediately picked up and downed in one go.

His poker face didn't falter. It tasted horrible, he hates alcohol with passion. Why did he think it was a good idea to visit this place?  
What's its proof... 190? He demanded another shot. And then another. It burned inside, he couldn't fathom why someone would drink this shit every night. Fools, each and every one of them. Especially his brother.

He rubbed his temples with a exasperated groan. The dreams never stopped. It kept him awake, followed him each and every day.  
He drank some more, the waiter now just leaving the bottle on the counter for him to refill on his own. Considerate man.

Why did she have to bring it up? Damn woman, smarter than he anticipated. But that's why he liked her, didn't he? There's no way he'd act upon it though. Though incredibly short, the kiss felt good.

Shit, the bottle is empty. Alcohol was rumored to make people forget, but it didn't work. Surely it was useless on devils. But he did feel slightly dizzy.

Another person entered the bar then. He smelt her making her way to him three minutes ago. Pure Jasmine.

Lucia sat herself to his right side, noticing the empty bottle in front of him. She looked so concerned. He didn't like that face on her. She was cute when she fought. And her smile...

"It's late Dante, let's go home."

"Nahh. I like it here." He still sounded fine, but he guessed that he probably reeked of alcohol.

"You're not someone who would pass out in a bar."

He laughed at that, genuinely, but clearly intoxicated. "I passed out once. Here in Bobby's Cellar. Drinking contest with ma dear bro, 35 years ago. Bastards stole all my stuff."  
He was about to reach a hand behind the bar to get another bottle of whatever liquor was closest to him but he was stopped by Lucia.

"Please... It's enough. You're already drunk."

"I'm not drunk." He stood up, legs slightly wobbly. "See, 's fine." He rummaged through his pockets and then placed money on the counter. "Dun worry." He felt like puking, but held it back.

Any other night she would have probably burst in laughter seeing him like this. Beet red face, hair slightly disheveled, slurring words. But this time, she only felt sadness.

He made it out the door with swaying steps. As he was about to reach the stairway, he collapsed.

* * *

Lucia heaved her partner through the doors of Devil May Cry, placing him on the couch carefully. He mumbled something incoherent. It shouldn't sound so cute. That got a small smile out of her.

She stripped him off his coat and boots, going upstairs to get a blanket for him. She was not going to carry him up to his bedroom, he would probably prefer the couch anyway.

Once she made her way back she found him awake, sitting upright on the couch. He looked disoriented, clearly still drunk, eyes half lidded.

Now his wrinkles could be seen more pronounced. The bags under his eyes deepened, too. She sat on his side, draping the blanket over him. That got a small pleased sigh out of the man.

"We can talk tomorrow, after you got rid of the alcohol in your blood. Go to sleep, I'll take the bed upsta-"

"No." He let his head fall on her shoulder, effectively shutting her up. His arms slowly encased her. A shiver went through her frame.

"Dante, don't... don't do this. You're not clear in the head right now."

He didn't pull back. Lucia was shocked when she felt something wet on her skin. She turned herself towards him, unbelieving. The hunter was shaking lightly, crying openly on her shoulder, hugging her just a bit tighter to himself.

"I can't do this... not anymore... I'm sorry, sorry, sorry..."

She brought her hands up, tenderly stroking his cheeks, removing the tears that were now flowing in a constant stream off his face. She wanted answers, but wasn't prepared for the devil to show it like this. What a fool she was. His lips trembled.

"I...I do not want to hurt you, Lucia." Almost a whisper, so unlike him.

She kissed him then, and this time he responded, albeit somewhat sloppily. It tasted like liquor and pizza. Right, he was not sober. Still, he brought his arms on her back, pressing her body to his own.

She was a demon, an artificial creature created by a mad sorcerer. But still, the son of Sparda refused to hurt her. He fought by her side, defeated Argosax in hell and managed to return. He showed her what it meant to be human, that even demonic beings could learn to love someone.

Whatever plagued his mind, she was sure the both of them could overcome any hurdle together. He might not have said that he loved her but...  
Drunk people don't lie.

She stayed by his side, the whole night. He stopped crying after a while and they both fell asleep locked in an embrace. The nightmares left him alone, this one time.

* * *

Inevitably, pain was still the first thing that hit him in the morning. His head felt like it would explode any moment.

Fuck alcohol. It did not even work properly. What had happened? Lucia found him in Bobby's Cellar after he finished the whole bottle of Everclear... that's the last thing he could remember.

He felt unnaturally warm and, dare he say, fuzzy? His head spun, but he was comfortable, surrounded by a heavenly smell of jasmine. But then he realized that weight lying on him... blue eyes shot open, immediately looking down.

Lucia slept on him, fully clothed (thank god), her head right beneath his chin. No wonder he could smell her perfume so strongly, her hair was right beneath his nose. She looked so peaceful.

He groaned, the pain was getting stronger. Really need to get up and get an aspirin... there must be some lying around somewhere. He barely managed to crawl out from under Lucia without waking her up. Upstairs, he looked through the bathroom cabinet for anything that might help his headache.

He found some... dusty box containing what looked like aspirin. Probably way over due date. He still took them though.

His reflection looked like shit. A light stubble was forming on his chin. Disgusting. He hadn't even cleaned himself after yesterday's fight. How could Lucia put up with that, sleeping by his side?

He jumped under the shower, shaved and took a fresh set of clothes out of his room, putting on a new pair of black denim jeans. All out of t-shirts. The only clean garment he had was a white dress shirt and a grey vest that went with it. A bit formal for devil hunting.

Nevertheless he put it on, adjusting his sleeves so that his forearms were shown. He debated on putting on a cravat just for the hell of it. All or nothing.

Looking in the mirror, he had to chuckle. Hunting with a formal dress code was something his father had done. His smile faded. With a swift motion, he slicked his hair back, scowling at the image presented to him.

Gone were the days when he aspired to be like his devilish parent. See where it left him and the world. He brushed his hair back in place.

Throwing his dirty clothes in the washing machine and taking a towel to dry off his hair, he went back downstairs. Lucia was still on the couch, eyes closed.

So he decided to pick up the tome Lucia got. Yes, that should work. He needed to prepare everything first. Collecting the offering shouldn't be a problem. But...

If not by his spell, then this world would be ending by the hands of the demons, without a protector guarding the last traces of humanity. If this world remained, Sparda's legacy needed to live on for it to survive. Time travel is hard to predict.

Why. Why did he still hesitate? He had to do it. He forfeited his life, so long ago. Swore by his father that he would do anything to undo his mistake.

Book still in hand, he slowly approached Lucia and sat down on the edge. Looking at this angle one could not fathom how this beautiful woman could turn into a devil, though even in her true form she still looked angel like with her white feathers covering her body from toe to head.

He tenderly stroked her cheek, which caused her to wake up, slowly. Her eyes fluttered open, still half asleep.

"Hey... I have to go, will you attend to Devil May Cry while I'm gone?"

Lucia got up into a sitting position, blanket falling down and into her lap.

She rubbed her eyes. "Huh? Oh... yes, I'm here," she said with a sleepy voice. He couldn't help but feel warm inside, smiling.

Such a small motion, already making him re-think what he was about to do. He was ashamed of how much power Lucia had over his feelings, even if it was probably not intentional on her side. But what he felt was not important in the larger scheme of things. It wouldn't change anything, he told himself.

"Good. See you in a few hours."

The hunter would ask her later about what happened last night. For now, he took his coat and left his home, leaving the city in search for the demons that were needed for the offering.


End file.
